FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Inside the laser lab on Colorado State University's Foothills Campus, researchers like Shoujun Wang and Yong Wang have led the nation in laser technology for years.
“We are trying to amplify the laser from nanojoule to microjoule level,” said Shoujun Wang. “We have hundreds of mirrors to create more energy.”
Yong Wang has been working here for decades.
“More than 22 years for this laser,” Yong Wang said. “Things are getting bigger and bigger.”
Their work has garnered the attention of some of the leading laser companies in the world, like Marvel Fusion out of Germany.
“I think over the last three or four years, we’ve gained a lot of momentum in terms of what we’ve been doing with the Department of Energy,” said Reed Hollinger, researcher and assistant professor at CSU. “And I think Marvel has seen what our capabilities are.”
Fort Collins
CSU, Marvel Fusion partner to construct $150M laser and fusion research facility
CSU and Marvel Fusion have partnered to to construct a $150 million laser and fusion research facility on the university's Foothills Campus. Marvel Fusion’s plan is to use the facility to build one of the largest, most powerful lasers in the world. The goal is to use such a laser to power the world.
“CSU and Marvel Fusion are embarking on a $150 million laser research facility here on the CSU campus,” said Grant Calhoun, director of industry research contracting at CSU. “This would be carbon-free, unlimited free energy.”
Scientists have discovered that harnessing a laser’s energy mimic’s the Sun, which could lead to a new source of carbon-free energy.
“This high intensity laser can actually help simulate the conditions and the temperatures inside the sun,” Calhoun said.
“And understand the physics of how hot it gets, how much energy absorbs and all that,” said Hollinger.
Hollinger explains it’s like harnessing the power of a hammer to a nail.
“What this laser represents is a way of compressing energy in time and in space into a very, very small area,” Hollinger said. “You’re essentially using a very large hammer to hit the atoms and super heat the atoms.”
“And then hopefully scale them up to be a commercial power plant,” Calhoun said.
Fusion reactions are promising in the race for renewable energy, which could be a game changer in solving one of humanity's biggest challenges.
“It would change the world,” Calhoun said.
As for the building, construction is set to begin on the CSU Foothills Campus in about a year, with completion targeted in 2026.
“We’re going to cross that finish line in a pretty spectacular fashion,” said Hollinger.
